By-pass valve unit



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www \\\Y wie United States Patent 3,034,532 BY-PASS VALVE UNIT Timothy J. Sullivan, Butte, Mont., assigner to Sullivan Valve and Engineering Company, Butte, Mont., a corporation of Montana Filed Apr. 14, 1960, Ser. No. 22,147 Claims. (Cl. 137-6275) This invention relates generally to a by-pass valve unit, and more particularly to a by-pass valve unit having a single operating arm for by-passing through the unit lthe fluid which is normally fed to a piece of equipment connected to the unit.

In the past it has been common practice to provide a by-pass or diverting conduit system across a piece of iluid-fed equipment-such as a low water feeder, a stream trap, a water trap, a filter or the likewhich by-pass system generally requires three manually-operable shutoff valves.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a simple by-pass valve unit operable by a single operating member to by-pass through the unit iluid which is normally fed to a piece of equipment.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a by-pass valve unit adapted to be connected in parallel across the iuid supply and return lines of a piece of equipment, said by-pass valve unit having at least three valve members adapted to be seated on respective seats to control the ow of by-pass fluid through the valve unit, said valve members being operable as a function of movement of a single operating controller and of the lluid passing through the unit.

Another object of my invention is to provide a bypass valve unit adapted to be connected in parallel across the fluid supply and return lines of a piece of equipment, said by-pass unit being operable by a single operating controller and having also a pressure-responsive operated valve member for preventing back-how of uid into said equipment.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a by-pass valve unit which is easily assembled and disassembled, inexpensive to manufacture and service, and which achieves positive simple operation by the use of a single operating controller.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become more apparent from a study of the following specitlcation when considered in conjunction with the accompmying drawings in which:

FiG. l is a partly vertically-sectioned view of the bypass valve with the operating arm in the closed position;

FIG. 2 is a partly vertically-sectioned view of the bypass valve with the operating arm in the by-pass position;

FlG. 3 is a partly vertically-sectioned view of the bypass valve with the operating arm in its in operation position; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic elevational view of a water filtering system showing the manner in which the by-pass valve may be connected to a water filter.

Referring now more particularly to FlG. l, the bypass valve unit consists of a ilrst valve housing 1 having an inlet opening 2 and an outlet opening 3, the interior of said Valve housing being divided into an inlet chamber 4 and an outlet chamber 5 by a transverse wall 6 having an opening in which is mounted the valve seat 7. A valve member 8 is vertically-Slidably positioned within the opening in the transverse wall 6 and has a resilient washer 9 adapted to be seated upon seat 7 to prevent iluid from flowing from inlet chamber 4 to outlet chamber 5.

Secured to the opening in the upper portion of the valve housing 1 by means of bolts 1l) is the intermediate housing 1l. Plate 12 is clamped between the tirst housing 1 and the intermediate housing as shown. This plate l2 has a plurality of opening 13 therein and a cylindrical guide ilange 14 which surrounds an opening 15 centrally located in plate 12. At its upper end the intermediate housing 11 is provided with an opening in which is mounted the valve seat A16.

Bolt means 17 serve to connect a second valve housing 13 to the 'flange 11a at the upper end of 4the intermediate housing. The interior of said second valve housing is divided into an inlet chamber l and an outlet chamber 2S by a transverse wall 21 having an Opening in which is mounted the valve seat 22. The second valve housing 18 has an inlet opening 23 and an outlet opening 24.

Rotatably mounted in the intermediate housing 1-1 by fluid-sealed bearing means is the operating shaft 25 one end (25a) of which projects through a fluid-sealed opening in the wall of the intermediate housing. Rapidly secured to operating shaft 25 is the radial V-shaped projection 26.

Secured to the wall of the intermediate housing 11 is the indicating plate 28 which has a projecting portion 28a extending laterally from the intermediate housing.

An operating handle 29 is rigidly secured to the operating shaft end 25a for rotating the same as will be described in greater detail below. The handle 29 is provided with a spring-biased ball detent (not shown) which is adapted to cooperate with recesses 28h in the indicating plate portion 28a to maintain the angularly adjustable setting of the handle 29 (and consequently the shaft 25 and projection 26) in a desired position. It will be noted that `the indicating plate is marked with the indications Unit in Operation, Valve Closed, and Open By-Pass.

Slidably guided at its lower end in the guide flange 14 of plate 12 is the valve stem 3i?. The lower end 30a of valve stem Sli terminates adjacent the Valve member 8 which is biased downwardly upon seat 7 by spring 5i) which at its upper end abuts the fixed plate 12. Slidably mounted on the upper end of valve stern 30 between radial ilanges 3% and Stic are valve members 31 and 32. These valve members are urged apart by means of the concentrically mounted spring 33 so that valve member 32 will be seated upon seat 22 and valve member 31 will be seated upon seat 16 when the valve stem 39 is in the valve closed position of FlG. l. Valve members 31 and 32 are provided with O-ring seals 34, 35, respectively, for sealing the sliding connection of the valve members on the valve stem 30.

At the central portion of the valve stem 30 is provided a radial projection 4@ which extends into the slot in the V-shaped projection 26 from the operating shaft 25. The V-shaped projection 26 cooperates with the projection 49 to raise or lower the valve stem 3i) upon pivotal movement of operating handle 29 and of operating shaft 25 connected thereto.

In order to illustrate the manner in which the by-pass valve is installed in an actual application, the Valve has been illustrated in FlG. 4 as being connected in parallel with a water softener or -iiltering tank 42 by means of conduits 43 and 44. The inlet 23 `of the second valve housing 18 is connected to the water supply by supply conduit 45 -and the outlet opening 3 of the vrst valve housing 1 is connected to the water return by return conduit 46.

The operation of the by-pass valve may now be readily described.

With the handle 29 in the valve closed position of FIG. l, the valve stern 3@ will be positioned as shown with spring 50 biasing valve member 8 upon its seat 7 and spring 33 biasing valve members 31 and 32 on their seats 16 and 22, respectively. Thus ow of fluid from conduit 45 and inlet chamber 19 into either the intermediate housing 511 or into outlet chamber Ztl will be prevented by the seatingof'thevalve members upon their seats. rl`he handle 29 will be maintained in position by the cooperation of a spring-biased detent (not shown) in handle 29 with a corresponding recess 28b in the indicating plate 28a.

Referring now to FIG. 3, when the operating handle 29 is pivoted upwardly to the unit in operation position, shaft 25 will be rotated to pivot projection 26 downwardly. The cooperation of projection 26 with projection 46 on the valve stem will cause valve stem 3G to be longitudinally displaced downwardly. Downward movement of valve stem 30 will cause valve member 32 to be lowered from its seat 22 by the `ilange 3Go on the valve stem. Spring 33 will be compressed to more firmly bias valve member 3-1 on its seat '16. Fluid entering the inlet chamber 19 of valve housing 13 will thus pass through the opening in transverse wall 21 to the outlet chamber 2t) and then through conduit 44 to the tank 42 (FIG. 4). As the pressure in tank,42 builds up, fluid will pass through conduit 43 intothe inlet chamber 4 of the first valve housing 1. As the pressure in inlet chamber 4 builds up, valve member 8 will be raised from its seat 7 against the biasing force of spring 50. Fluid will then flow through the opening in the transverse wall 6 and then through conduit 46. The handle 29 will be maintained in the position illustrated in FIG, 3 by the detent and recess means described above. It is important to note that if the pressure in .inlet chamber 4 ofthe first valve housing 1.drops below apredetermined value, spring 50 will again seat valve member 8 upon its seat 7 to close the opening in ,transverse wall V6. The conduit 43 and tank 42 will thus be protected against back-flow through conduit 46.

Referring now to FIG. 2, when the operating handle 29 is pivoted downwardly to the open llay-pass. position, shaft 25 will be rotated in ,thel clockwise direction whereby projection 26 Vwill cooperate with projection 4G to raise valve stem 3).V Flange 30h will raise valve member 31 from its seat 16 and spring 33 will becompressed to firmly seat valve member 32 on its Vseat 22. Fluid from the conduit 45 will be'by-passedY from the tank 42 through the inlet chamber 19, Vthrough the intermediate housing 11 and openingsl 13 in plate 12, and through the outlet chamber 5 of theriirst valve housing 1 to the conduit 46. Valve member 8 will be biased downwardly upon its seat 7-A by spring 50 and also by theV pressure of the by-pass fluid flowing through the intermediate housing. Handle 29 will be maintained in the open .by-pass position by the detent and recess means described above.k

Upon upward pivotal movement of handle 29 to the valve closed position of FIG. l, valve members 32 and 31 will be closed upon their seats by spring 33, and valve member 8 will be seated by spring 50. By-pass uid remaining in the intermediate housing 11 will llow through outlet chamber 5V to the conduit 46.- If for somerreason the pressure in inlet chamber 4 of housing 1 should build up above a desired value, valve member 8 will be lifted from its seat 7 against the biasing force of spring Sil so that fluid will pass from chamber 4 to outlet chamber 5.. Y Y

While in accordance with the provisions of thepatent statutes I have illustrated and described the best form and embodiment of my invention now known to me, `it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other changes vmay beV made in thek apparatus described `without deviating from the invention set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

l. A by-pass valve unit adapted to be connected across the tluid supply and return lines of a piece of equipment in parallel therewith comprising a housing having a first housing portion divided into a iirst inlet chamber and a rst outlet chamber by a first `transverse wall having an opening with a first valve seat therein, a second housing portion divided into a second inlet chamber and a second outlet chamber by a second transverse wall having an opening with a second valve seat therein, and an intermediate housing portion having a passage extending therethrough providing communication between said first outlet chamber and said second inlet chamber, said intermediate housing portion having a third-transverse wall having an opening with -a third valve seat therein; a first valve member in said first housing portion arranged for seating on said first valve seat to interruptl communication between said first inlet and outlet chambers; a second valve member in said second housing portion arranged for seating on said second valve seat `to interrupt communication between said second inlet and outletV chambers; a third valve member arranged for seating upon said third valve seat for interrupting communication between said first outlet chamber and said second inlet chamber; spring means normally biasing said first, second and third valve members upon t eir seats; operating means for selectivelyv opening one or the other of said second and third valve members from its associated seat; said lirstinlet and outlet chambers being adapted to be connected in series .in 4the uid return line of a piece of equipment and the second inlet and outlet chambers being adapted to be connected in series in the fluid supply line of a piece of equipment, said `first valve member being mounted for lifting from its seatjagainst the biasing force of said spring means solely by the pressure of uid in said first inlet chamber. y

2. Apparatus as dened in claim l wherein said second and third valve seats are substantially parallel and colinearly arranged, the associated second and third valve members being positioned betweenv said second and third valve seats, and further whereinV said spring means includes a spring intermediate said second and third valve members biasing the same in opposite directions into seating engagement with said second and third valve seats.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, and further wherein said operating means for selectively opening one or the other of said second and third valve members from its associated seat includes a Valve stem slidably extending longitudinally through aligned apertures in said second and third valve members, said valve stem havinga pair of longitudinally-spaced abutments thereon between which said second and third valve members are mounted.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 and further including means extending through an opening in said housing for longitudinally displacing said valve stem in one direction `to open one of said second and third members from its associated seat and in the opposite direction to open the other of said second and third valve members from its associated seat.

5. Apparatus -as defined in claim 4 wherein said means' for longitudinally displacing said valve stem comprises a transverse shaft rotatably mounted in said housing, one. end of said shaft extending outwardly through anropening in said housing, said shaft being connected to said valve stem, and means secured to the end of said shaft extending through the housing opening for rotating said shaft to cause longitudinal displacement of said valve stem.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,935,082 Stoner May 3, 1960 .NLA i 

